Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce The Big Apple, a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.

New “Schleppie” Award Goes to M1;
City’s Least Reliable Bus, Plagued by Bunching and Gaps In Service

Groups See Hope for Faster, More Reliable Buses In Congestion Pricing

The NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives today presented two separate awards for poor bus service in New York City.

The first is the sixth-annual “Pokey” for the slowest local bus routes in New York City. The actual Pokey award is a golden snail on a pedestal. The second is a new award called the “Schleppie” for the city’s least reliable buses and is based on official transit statistics. The Schleppie is comprised of lumbering elephants mounted on a pedestal.

The winner of the 2007 Pokey is … the M23 crosstown. The M23 had the slowest bus speed at 4.0 miles per hour as clocked at 12 noon on a weekday. This is not much faster than the 3.0 m.p.h. maintained by the average person walking. Last year’s winner was the M14A crosstown.

The NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives today presented two separate awards for poor bus service in New York City.

The first is the sixth-annual “Pokey” for the slowest local bus routes in New York City. The actual Pokey award is a golden snail on a pedestal. The second is a new award called the “Schleppie” for the city’s least reliable buses and is based on official transit statistics. The Schleppie is comprised of lumbering elephants mounted on a pedestal.

The winner of the 2007 Pokey is … the M23 crosstown. The M23 had the slowest bus speed at 4.0 miles per hour as clocked at 12 noon on a weekday. This is not much faster than the 3.0 mph maintained by the average person walking. Last year’s winner was the M14A crosstown.

The winner of the 2007 Schleppie is … the M1 Fifth/Madison/Park Avenue. Nearly one in three of its buses have big gaps in service or are off schedule, the worst record for the 42 key local routes for which MTA New York City Transit calculates reliability measures.